Chapter 425 |
At the intersection.
There were many people around.
Fang Qi stood at the very front of the crowd.
He held Liguang’s hand tightly.
Gripping it firmly.
The silver-haired girl stood quietly beside him.
Her curled-up silver bun stood out strikingly among the crowd.
She didn’t speak either, gently squeezing his hand back with her soft, boneless little fingers.
Their fingers were interlaced.
Someone lamented, “Gone so young.”
Someone made snide remarks, “Serves them right for not looking while crossing the street.”
Someone else held up a phone, livestreaming, talking nonstop into the camera, narrating the tragedy that had just unfolded at the intersection.
Fang Qi also heard a middle-aged man behind him vividly describing the moment An Lian was hit and sent flying.
His tone was excited, as if he were recounting some bizarre tale.
And Fang Qi…
He stared blankly at the person being lifted onto a stretcher.
A white cloth covered her face.
The splash of crimson was shocking.
He could no longer see her cold, weary face.
But on her foot, she still wore one of the deep-colored high heels he recognized.
He knew that shoe.
Just an hour ago, that high heel had been clicking on his apartment floor.
He remembered the sound of its heel striking the ground clearly.
Now, only one remained.
The other had fallen somewhere unknown.
Inside the police tape, officers were maintaining order.
He saw Gu Xi.
She was there too.
She stood beside the stretcher, her police uniform making her stand out more than the other officers.
She wasn’t keeping order like the others.
She just stood by the stretcher, head lowered, staring at the body covered by the white cloth.
Her short ponytail was slightly askew, as if hastily tied up.
Fang Qi couldn’t see her expression, only that her shoulders were stiff.
That motionless posture was more wrenching than any tears.
“… Liguang.”
Fang Qi spoke softly.
He gently tugged her hand.
Liguang didn’t ask any questions, just held his hand tighter.
He stepped forward. She followed.
The two walked through the crowd toward the police tape.
Fang Qi felt…
His steps were a bit unsteady.
He thought his state of mind was strange.
Anger, sadness, shock… All of it, probably.
But those emotions seemed separated from him by something.
He was strangely calm.
Yeah.
He was probably calm now.
“Sir, you can’t cross the line!”
A young officer reached out to block him.
He stopped.
He didn’t push through or argue, didn’t even look at the officer’s face.
He just stood outside the tape, across that yellow plastic barrier…
Looking at the figure beside the stretcher.
Watching quietly.
He didn’t know what to say.
Gu Xi, who had been in a daze, seemed to sense his gaze.
Her shoulders trembled slightly, and she slowly turned her head.
Her light brown eyes met Fang Qi’s.
Those eyes, usually stubborn and bright, capable of glaring and sparking fire…
Were now empty.
But not the hollow emptiness of a ghost—more like…
A piece of her heart had gone missing.
She stared at Fang Qi for about two or three seconds…
Her body trembled slightly!
Then, as if waking from a dream.
She looked blankly at him, opened her mouth, finally took a deep breath…
And walked toward him.
Her first step nearly stumbled!
She crossed the police tape and stood in front of Fang Qi.
Fang Qi could finally see her face clearly.
Her eyes were red, her lips dry, her breathing rapid.
She stared at him, glanced at the silver-haired Liguang bun beside him, then looked back at him.
She opened her mouth, and finally…
“… Save her.”
Her voice was hoarse.
“Please.”
“Save her.”
She repeated.
Then lowered her head slightly, her vacant eyes fixed on the button of Fang Qi’s shirt.
“Save her, Fang Qi.”
“Please.”
Her tone was full of pleading.
Fang Qi’s pupils trembled.
He knew what she meant.
Since An Lian was already dead, the only way to save her…
Was that one.
To turn this death into a “dream.”
To let everything start over.
Gu Xi knew about his rewind ability, so…
She was begging him to do the only thing he could.
Using his death…
To pull An Lian back from this nightmare!
… He didn’t need her to say it.
He would definitely do it.
But…
“Why…?”
He looked at the stretcher being lifted into the vehicle, the blood still shockingly vivid.
“An Lian…”
“She once almost became your sister.”
Gu Xi spoke again, her voice trembling.
She murmured.
“She’s now Liguang’s maintenance specialist.”
“She’s dedicated, incredibly dedicated.”
“The maintenance she handled has never had any errors. She…”
She let out a shaky breath.
“And…”
She lifted her head, trembling as she met Fang Qi’s eyes.
“She’s also in charge of…”
“Two other AI companions of the same grade as Liguang’s maintenance!”
…?
Fang Qi’s eyes flickered.
Two more of the same grade…?
Liguang tightened her grip on his hand.
“Three in total…”
Gu Xi’s eyes reddened further!
“She alone handles three!”
She lowered her voice, but her words sped up!
“She knows the data of every single one by heart!”
“She can recite every core parameter!”
“She…”
Gu Xi’s eyes were still pleading.
“She’s really important…”
“She’s not just your sister, she’s also…”
“Anyway…”
She trailed off incoherently.
Finally, she slowly lowered her head.
“You have to save her, you have to save her…”
Her murmurs faded beyond Fang Qi’s hearing.
He slowly closed his eyes.
… Enough.
This time, the information was enough.
Gu Xi was persuading him to save An Lian.
Gu Xi was giving him a reason to save her.
She was telling him…
This woman he called his sister, An Lian, wasn’t just important to him.
As Chenxi Corporation’s most senior maintenance specialist, she held…
Detailed information on two other super-cores!
The existences on par with Liguang!
Two of the nine super-cores created by his parents!
Perhaps also the carriers of “authority” he had once helped create before his memory loss.
So An Lian was important, An Lian couldn’t die.
Not just because she was his sister, but because…
Her mind held too much that would be lost forever if she disappeared.
The crowd around still buzzed with noise.
Someone was still filming with their phone, even capturing the two of them.
But Fang Qi ignored the cameras.
He tightened his grip on Liguang’s hand again.
His madwoman stood beside him, silent and unurging.
In his palm, that cool little hand responded quietly.
He could feel her crimson eyes watching him.
That shade of red, suppressed by An Lian to its lowest safe threshold, was now flowing calmly and steadily.
“… You don’t have to say it. I’ll definitely save her.”
Fang Qi spoke softly, his mind already calm.
He opened his eyes and looked at Gu Xi.
“Of course I’ll save her.”
It was the natural thing to do.
How could he possibly watch An Lian die?
This sister, who wanted to use her own life to exchange for his and Liguang's safety…
How could he possibly watch her just slip away like this?
The reason he came here this time…
Was to confirm the scene!
He wanted to figure out how all of this had happened!
To see clearly how many people were around, how many cameras, how many hidden dangers!
That way…
Next time, he wouldn’t let this tragedy repeat.
So now…
“Master…!”
Liguang suddenly turned slightly, leaning close to Fang Qi’s ear.
“There are AI Companions around, and also…”
She lowered her voice.
“Half-mechanical humans.”
Fang Qi was slightly taken aback.
…Huh?
AI Companions?
Half-mechanical humans?
What did that mean?
…Oh.
He pulled himself out of that dazed numbness just a little.
…Bomu, huh.
Bomu had come?
…?
Bomu…
Why were they at the accident scene?
And they had noticed him…
Just as Liguang spoke those words, among the surrounding passersby…
Several faces turned their gazes sharply toward Fang Qi and Liguang!
The excitement of the morbid crowd just a moment ago…
Suddenly shifted into silent scrutiny!
Fang Qi didn’t feel shocked or flustered.
Watching An Lian being carried into the ambulance, all he felt now was…
A bit annoyed.
These people had been crowding around here from the very beginning.
Watching An Lian’s body being taken away, watching Gu Xi break down, watching the crowd hold up their phones like it was some kind of show.
And now, they were staring at him!
Staring at your mother, huh?
Bomu?
Yeah.
Bomu was an official organization.
He slowly turned his head, sweeping his gaze over the people looking at him.
“Stare at your mom.”
His tone was calm.
The expressions of those few people shifted slightly!
“If you keep looking…”
Fang Qi narrowed his eyes.
“I’ll gouge your eyes out.”
The crowd immediately erupted in uproar!
Liguang instantly narrowed her phoenix-like eyes!
A red gleam flashed at her fingertips!
The few who had been staring at him with scrutiny instantly changed color, averted their gazes, and took half a step back.
And then…
“Young man, how can you speak so harshly!”
A few real middle-aged aunties nearby exploded first.
They had indeed been glancing in Fang Qi’s direction just now!
And had been whispering about how strange this silver-haired girl’s outfit was, and how this pretty policewoman was begging him…
Now, they were caught in the crossfire of his outburst!
A curly-haired auntie’s face flushed red with anger!
“There are police officers right next to you!”
She stamped her foot and pointed at him!
Next to her, another auntie in a floral shirt chimed in:
“That’s right, that’s right! For someone so young, your mouth is so foul! Don’t you have any manners?!”
Fang Qi shot them a glance.
“Get lost.”
That single word made the auntie’s face turn purple with rage!
“You—you—!!”
She wanted to say more, but was pulled back by someone nearby.
After all, Gu Xi was still there in her police uniform, and it was obvious she had a close connection with Fang Qi.
Several Bomu members had already lowered their heads, blending back into the crowd like ordinary people.
Fang Qi withdrew his gaze.
He turned back to Gu Xi.
Her expression hadn’t changed at all.
From beginning to end, she had just stood there, staring at the buttons on his collar, listening to him curse.
She hadn’t even glanced at anyone else.
Her eyes were still empty, and when she saw Fang Qi looking at her…
She actually seemed to flinch slightly.
…Oh.
Fang Qi said nothing as he watched her.
…So that’s how it was.
Gu Xi, you knew, didn’t you.
Silence itself was the answer.
She knew they were there, but she couldn’t speak of it.
He didn’t press her.
Because he knew that asking wouldn’t get him anywhere.
This woman’s lips were far too sealed.
Last time, when he had pressed a gun to her face and pretended to assault her, she hadn’t yielded a single word.
If she didn’t want to tell him, she never would.
Gu Xi lifted her head again and looked at him.
A pleading gaze.
“Please, you have to save her…!”
“You absolutely have to…!”
Her voice was choked with tears.
After saying that, she turned around…
And stumbled back into the police ranks, lost and unsteady.
Her figure wavered in the crowd for a moment, then was swallowed by those dark uniforms.
An Lian’s body had already been loaded into the ambulance.
The sound of the door closing was muffled and heavy.
Then, the ambulance drove away.
Fang Qi watched its taillights shrink in his field of vision, until eventually…
They disappeared behind the tall buildings at the intersection.
The yellow tape was taken down, the barricades moved aside, the previously blocked lanes reopened.
The onlookers gradually dispersed.
Some were still talking hungrily about what they had just witnessed.
Others had already turned to scroll through the next trending topic.
The middle-aged aunties walked away, still grumbling.
The Bomu members…
Seemed to have melted into the crowd and quietly vanished.
Bomu.
Fang Qi was still standing in place.
He stared at the direction where Gu Xi had disappeared, at the direction where the ambulance had faded, for a long time.
“…Liguang.”
He spoke softly.
“We…”
“Master, careful!”
Liguang suddenly spun around!
She stepped forward, shielding Fang Qi with her body!
Her coiled silver hair swished, and a hint of crimson flickered at her fingertips!
…?
Fang Qi slowly turned his head.
In the crowd, two familiar faces were quietly watching.
Uncle Fang Yi, in a dark, old jacket, stood a few paces away.
Beside him, Xiaoyue held his arm.
Her languid, seductive eyes were slightly narrowed, a faint smile lingering at the corners of her mouth.
The two of them just stood there.
No one knew when they had arrived, or how long they had been watching.
Fang Qi’s brow relaxed slightly.
…Oh.
Uncle Fang Yi.
Second Uncle.
Long time no see.